Art of manufacturing footwear



ljsomsz c. Hl-MORRILlL ART OF MANUFACTURING FOOTWEAR 2 Sheets-Snuff 2 Filed April 25. '1921 I making atented July 1, 192,

CHARLES H. MQRRILL, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOE HINEBY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATIQN OF NEW ART OF MANUFACTURING FOOTWEAR.

Application filed April 25,

To (1 whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. MoRRILL, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Swampscott, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in the Art of Manufacturing Footwear, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to the manufacture of footwear and is herein illustrated in connection with the manufacture of a vulcan ized shoe of rubber or rubberized material.

Although the invention is adapted to other forms of vulcanized footwear, it is particularly adapted to the production of a rubber overshoe commonly known as a rubber, that is a low overshoe which depends considerably upon its elasticity to hold it in place upon t e shoe of the wearer; and for convenience the invention will be described in connection with such an overshoe.

Hitherto it has been customary either to build up a shoe of this kind piece by piece upon a last or to build part of the top,

for example the lining and u per, in the flat and then to wrap the partly louilt to about a last and close it at the rear end. ccording to the present invention the upper and lining are cut to such'pattern that when their extremities are fastened together to form a closed top, the joint will be located at the side of the shoe; and this closing of the top ispreferably done prior to placing the top upon the last. In order to impart the proper curvature to the rear end of the shoe the upper is cut out with a notch in its rear portion, the edges of which are brought together and joined in a novel manner.

the shoe in this way not only may the top be built in the fiat and pressed firmly together, but a considerable saving in stock and labor results. r

Referring to the accompanying drawm s,

Fig- 1 shows in separated relation the parts of the top of an illustrative shoe;

Fig. 2 is a perspective of the heel end of a finished shoe with parts broken away,

Fig. 3 is a perspective of a completed 1921. Serial No. 464,411.

shoe upon a last, also with parts broken away, and

Fig. 4- is a perspective of a top after the parts thereof have been assembled in the flat preparatory to the butt-joining of the heel end of'the upper and the closing of the top to get it ready for placing upon the last. In this figure the thickness of the parts has been considerably exaggerated in order to show more clearly their relations to one another.

The principal parts of the top of the illustrative shoe comprises an upper 5 of rubber, a junior 7 of fabric frictioned on both sides and known as a friction junior, a junior 9 of rag stock known as a rag junior, a toe cap 11 which may be made either of the same material as the-friction junior or of rubber according to whether it is to be-placed between the upper and lining or on the outside of the upper, and a lining 13 of fabric frictioned onone side. Besides these principal parts there may be provided a back stay 15 and a side stay 17. The principal parts of the top are designed to be superposed one upon the other in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4 andindicated in Fig. 1. In the illustrative shoe the friction toe cap lies between the upper 5 and lining 13, but it may be preferable to employ.

a rubber toe cap and lay it on the outer surface of the rubber. Also the positions of the friction junior 9 and rag junior may be reversed if desired, and two or more stays may be used.

Adhering now to the particular shape, arrangement and number of parts shown, the upper 5 is cut from a sheet of rubber; it has a notch in its rear portion (that is in what will be the rear portion of the finished shoe) and is so shaped that when it is closed by joining its extremities the joint will be located at the side of theshoe. it is a one piece vamp and quarter adapted to be closed at one side by joining its extremities. The friction junior 7 has the shape shown which includes a notch of very much but not quite the same shape as the notch in the upper. The notch in the friction junioris of less extent than that in the upper and is so fashioned that when its left-hand edge is superposed upon and placed in register with the left-hand edge of the notch in the upper, the right-hand edge of its notch will extend out beyond the right-hand edge of the notch in the upper to form a flap. The extent of this flap is indicated in Fig. l by the dotted line 19 which indicates the position which the right-hand edge of the notch in the upper will occupy when the friction junior is superposed upon the upper. The rag junior 9 is of the shape shown and has a notch the edges of which, when the rag junior is superposed upon the friction junior 7 register with the edges of the notch in the upper 5. j r

The general shape of the lining 13 is similar 'to that of the upper 5, the edges of the two members registering when in superposed relation except at one side of the notch, as will presently be described, and at their extremities. For convenience the edges 105 and 113 of the upper and the lining will be referred to as the forward edges and the ed es 205 and 213 as their rearward edges. t will be noted that the forward edge 113 of the lining falls short of the forward edge 105 of the upper that the-rearward edge 213 of the min extends beyond the rearward edge 205 the upper. The notch in the lining is of the same shape as that in the friction junior 7 so that when the lining is superposed on the other parts, the right-hand edge of its notch extends out beyond the right-hand edges of the notches in the rag junior and in the u per to form a flap of the same shape as the ap on the friction junior. It will be noted thatfrom the apices of the notches in both the lining and the friction junior inwardly extending cuts 313 and 319 have been made so as to permit the op osite edges of the notch in the upper to be rought together and butt joined, the flaps then extending across the butt-joint. The 'parts which have been described above may be put together as follows: The rubber or gum upper 5 1s laid upon a fiat surface. Upon the upper is placed the friction junior 7 with its flap extend ng out beyond the right-hand edge of the corresponding edge of thenotch in the upper. Upon the friction 'unior is placed the rag junior 9 with the e ges of its notch registering with the edges of the notch in the upper. The toe cap is laid either upon the upper or upon the frictioned side of the lining. The lining is then laid, frictioned s1d e down, upon the upper over the uniors with the edges of its notch registering with the edges of the notch in the friction junior. -The relative positions of the various parts when they-have been thus assembled is illustrated in Fig. 4. Thelefthand edges of the notches in the several parts are all 111 register while of the righthandedges, those of-the friction junior and the lining extend out beyond those of the and ' overlying flap such for example as a gum vamp are pressed together to expel the trapped air, which would otherwise cause blisters when the shoe was vulcanized, and to unite the parts firmly by adhesion, it being understood that all of the ized ru her which is extremely adhesive, one effect of this pressing being 'to unite the flap on the lining with the flap on the friction junior; The side stay 17, herein shown as consisting of a single piece of friction tape although two or more may be used if desired, may now be attached in the position shown in Fig. 4;, or this tape may be attached prior to the pressing together of the parts of the top. The notch is ow closed by butting together the edges of the notch in the upper, and laying the combined flap of the lining and the friction junior over the butt-joint and pressingit against the lining at the far side of the joint. The position of the butt-joint is indicated in Fig. 2 by the dotted line 21, and the edge of the of the lining and friction junior by the full line 23. It is, of course, necessary to bend the parts to accomplish this butt-joining operation. The extremities ofthe composite top are now fastened together to form a closed top by lapping the forward extremities 105, 113 over the stay 17 and over the rearward extremities 205, 213. In this overlapping the forward edge of the upper is caused to extend just past the edge 117 of the side stay 17 so that that edge of the side stay serves as a guide to determine the proper extent of the overlap. The back stay 15 is now laid at the rear of the shoe over the butt-joint of the upper,

and pressed into place; or the laying and a pressing of the back stay may be done before the closing of the top. After the composite top has thus been completed, it is cemented along its lower margin and assembled upon a last together with an insole 25 having at tachedto it a filler 27. This filler has a contour similar to that of the insole but is of less extent so that the margin of the insole extends out beyond the edge of the filler. The top is now lasted over upon the margin of the insole, the insole filler and 'top having been out upon proper patterns to finished sizes such that. the overlasted portion of the top lies upon the outwardly extending margin of the insole and reaches substantially parts consist of-or contain unvulcanto the edge of the filler. The relative positions of the parts after the lastingoperausing a one-piece lining which has to do with. economizing stock in the cutting out of the linings on a large scale. The peculiar shape of the lining does not lend itself to the economical cutting upof a sheet of fabric, and if cut in one piece, causes the production of a considerable amount of small waste pieces whichmust be thrown away. Accordingly the lining is preferably cut in two pieces as indicated in the drawmgs.

waste is returned to stock and worked up into new sheet rubber..

The method which has been described above, permits a large saving of labor, for

example in the pressing of the top by runnirig it through a rolling machine, and eliminates skilled labor to a large extent since the putting together of the pieces of the topin the flat involves only simple operations. It possesses the further advantage that the top maybe made complete by itself so that the only operations performed while the shoe is in the last are the lasting and outsolelaying. And the resultant shoe h'asbeen found to be very strong and wear resisting. In order to promote brevity and clearness, the manufacture of a particular kind of shoe, namely a rubber overshoe, has been" described; but it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular shoe which has been described nor to the particular shape or number of parts shown nor to the particular order in which the parts of the top are superp0sed.

The meth d of making a rubber or rubberized shoe which comprises broadly building the top inthe flat, closing it, placing it upon a last and completing the manufacture of the shoe, including subjectingthe shoe to 1 forms the subject-matter of my priorapplication Serial .No. 271,397. j

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let- 1. A shoe of vulcanized material comprising an upper and a lining, the upper having a butt-joint at the rear portion thereof across which extends a flap of the lining.

No such objection applies to cutting the rubber upper in one piece because all.

. joint and pressing 2. A shoe of vulcanized material comprising'an upper, a lining and a junior, the upper having a butt-joint at the rear portion thereof across which extend flaps formed on the lining and junior.

3. A shoe of vulcanized material comprising a one-piece upper the edges of a notch in which are joined at the rear of the shoe, and the extremities of which are joined at the side of the shoe.

4. A shoe of vulcanized material comprising a one-piece upper having at its rear end a butt-joint extending from the bottom part way to the top and at the side a lap-joint extending all the way from bottom to top.

5, A shoe of vulcanized material comprising a one-piece upper and a lining, the upper having at its rear end a butt-joint extending from the bottom part way to the top, the extremities of the upper and lining being joined at the side of the shoe.

6. A shoe of Vulcanized material comprising a one-piece upper and a lining, the

upper having atits rear end a butt-joint extending from the bottom part wayto the top across which on the inside of the shoe extends a flap of the lining, the extremities of the upper and lining being joined at the side of the shoe.

7. A method of making a rubber shoe which comprises cutting out from rubber or rubberized material an upper with a notch in its rear portion, said upper being of such shape-that whenlthe extremities are joined in the process' of forming a closed top the joint will be located at the side thereof, attaching a lining to the upper,

pressing the composite member while flat,

butt-joining the edges of the notch in the upper and staying the butt-joint, joining the extremities of the composite member to form a closed top, and completing the manufacture of the shoe, including subjecting it to vulcanization.

8. A method of producing a shoe top the rear end of which shall be shaped to correspond to the shape of the rear end of the last upon which it is to be placed, which comprises providing notches in the rear ends of the upperv and lining such that when the parts are superposed one edge of the notch in the lining substantially registers with one edge of the notch in the upper and the other edge of the notch in the linin extends out beyond the other edge of thenotch vulcanization, is not herein claimed but in the upper to forma flap, pressing the parts together in the fiat, butt-joining the edges of the notch in the upper and at the same time lapping the flap over the buttit against the lining.

9. A method of'manufacturing a rubber boot or shoe which comprises building a top comprising a rubber upper havmg a V- shaped notch in the lower portion of its rear end anda lining having a similarly located V-shaped notch of maller dimensions with one edge of the notch in the upper registering substantially with one edge in the notch in the lining, the other edge of the notch in the lining extending out beyond the other edge of the notch in the upper so as to form a flap, bringing the edges of the notch in the upper together to form a butt-joint and at the same time laying the flap over the butt-joint and upon the lining at the opposite side of the notch and causing. the flap to adhere to the lining, closing the shoe top thus formed, placing it together with an insole upon a last, lasting the top over upon the insole and completing the manufacture of the shoe.

10. A method of making a rubber boot or shoe which comprises buildin a top comprising an upper with a IIOtt'il in its rear portion, said upper being of such shape that when the extremities are joined in the process of forming a closed top, the joint will be located at the side thereof, and a lining similar in shape to that of the upper but 1 having its notch of such dimensions that one edge of the notch in the lining extends out beyond the corresponding edge of the notch in the upper so as to form a flap, pressing the parts together in the flat, butt-joining the edges of the notch in the upper, and at the same time lapping the flap over the buttjoint and pressing it upon the lining, clos mg the top by joining its extremities, and com leting the manufacture of the shoe ineluding subjecting it to vulcanization.

11. A method of making a rubber boot or shoe which comprises bu1lding"a top comprising an upper having a notch'in its rear portion, said upper being shaped so that when closed, the closing joint will be located at the side thereof, and a similarl notched and shaped lining, a notched friction junior and a notched rag junior, the notch in at least one of the three last-named parts being of less extent than that of the notch in the upper so that when the parts are superposed with the notches in substantial register, the. edge of a notch of less extent will extend out beyond the corresponding edge of the notch in the upper to form a flap, so superposing the parts, pressing them together while flat, bringing together the edges of the notch in the upper to form a butt-joint, laying the flap over the butt-joint and pressing it against the lining, joining the extremities of the composite member to form a closed top with the last-named joint at the side thereof, assembling the closed top together with an insole upon a last, and completin the manufacture of the shoe including su jecting it to vulcanization.

12. A method of making a rubber boot or shoe which comprises building a top comprismg an upper having a notch in its rear emme portion, said upper being so shaped that, when closed, the closing joint will be located at the side thereof, and a similarly shaped lining the notch in which is of less extent than that in the upper, a friction junior having a notch of substantially the same extent asthat in the lining and a rag junior having a notch of substantially the same extent as that in the lining, the edges of the notches in the upper and in the rag junior being in register while one edge of each of the notches in the friction junior and in the lining register with one edge in the notch in the upper, the other edges of the notches in the friction junior and in the lining extending beyond the corresponding edge of the notch gether with an insole upon a last, and completin the manufacture of the shoe including su bjecting it to vulcanization.

13. A method of making a vulcanized shoe which comprises assembling and pressing together in the fiat suitably shaped parts of vulcanizable material to form a composite top having a notch at its rear end and of a shape such that, when its extremities are joined to close the top, the joint will be located at the side ofthe top, closing the notch, joining the extremities, assembling the closed top together with an insole upon a last, lasting the lower margin of the top over upon the insole, applying an outsole and vulcanizing the shoe.

14. A method of making a vulcanized shoe which comprises preparing and. pressing together. in the flat a top, including an upper and a lining, having a notch in its rear portion and of a shape such that when its extremities are joined to form a closed top the joint will come at the side of the top, closing the notch, fastening the extremities together, assembling the top together with an insole upon a last, lasting the lower margin of the top over upon the insole, applying an outsole and subjecting the shoe to vulcanization.

15. A method of making a vulcanized shoe which comprises preparing and pressing together in the fiat a top, including an upper and a lining, having a notch in its rear portion and of a shape such that when its extremities are joined to form a closed top the joint will come at the side of the top, closing the notch, fastening the extremities together, assembling the top together with an insole upon a last, lasting the lower margin of the top over upon the insole, applying an outsole, and subjecting the shoe to vulcanization.

. 16. The method of making 'a vulcanized at the rear of the finished shoe and of such shoe having an upper and a lining which shape that when the extremities of the upper comprises providing a buttjoint at the rear are joined the joint will be located at the of the upper, laying a flap of the lining side of the shoe, joining the edges of the 15 5 across thisjoint, andcom leting the manunotch, joining the edges of the extremities factur'e of the shoe inclu 'ing subjecting it of the upper and completing the manufacto vulcanization. ture of the shoe, including subjecting it to 17. The method of making a vulcanized vulcanization.

shoe which comprises cutting from vuleaniz- In testimony whereof I have signed my 20 10 able. material a one-piece upper having a name to this s cification. I

notch in that portion thereof which will lie S H. MORRILL. 

